still summer

I see by the Facebook photos that many kids have returned to school: this week, last week even -- back they go. Not Wisconsin kids. Indeed, my grand threesome is out until after Labor Day. I believe it has to do with living in a summer destination state. We need to keep those high schoolers in their jobs as life guards and candy sellers. So, our kids are on vacation and summer is still with us.

The day is quiet. Continuing to be buggy as hell, but decidedly cooler. With clouds and the occasional breeze. I have my hoodie over my usual summer t-shirt and shorts. The goal is to water every pot with growing things thoroughly, to do some small errands for my daughter (who got caught in a time crunch), and to pick up a cinnamon roll at Madison Sourdough for breakfast. All this fills up the morning.

(yep, eyes closed -- a reflexive reaction to the camera)

And then I pack. I'm leaving early tomorrow. Not far and not for long, but still, it's a trip and it requires bringing up a carryon and filling it with life's necessities. I've been told to pack my talents (if I have such talents, which some may nod their heads vigorously in the affirmative and others may dispute) for creating fun. 

It's interesting to sometimes step back and review your contributions to the enterprise of family life. As a parent of young children you are indeed the ringleader of their fun. Dinnertime silliness can be fun. Outdoor adventures can be fun. Turning on the hose can be fun. Opening the freezer to nonstop hot day popsicles van be fun. Letting them make messes and take risks can be fun. For a grandparent, the requirements change I think. Since you are no longer the person who writes the rules, nor the one who needs to keep the ship afloat, your participation becomes much more subtle. You are the listener. The one who never gets angry, no matter how many times they've said poop or wiped their cherry stained fingers on the once-off-white, now really off-any-semblance-of-white couch. The one who doesn't complain about an absence of sleep or a busted knee. The one can smile through anything. Genuinely. Anyone can spot a fake smile from a mile. A fun grandparent doesn't do fake smiles. 

So yes, my suitcase is packed with all that I need for a short trip during which I will happily be a fun grandmother.

In the late afternoon, Ed and I bike over to our favorite park. Everything smells of transitioning seasons and feels very much like we are about to take a leap into fall. But not yet. Not today, not this week.

Right now, it's still summer. 

(Here's a pleasant surprise: the new bed of shade plants that I put in by the front entrance -- the entrance only the Amazon driver ever uses -- is doing very well, despite the drought and my inattention to it. There are three plant groups -- one that puts out flowers in spring, one that does so in early summer and one that sprouts small, beautiful orchid like blooms in early fall. Here are the first flowers from this last group! Lovely, aren't they?)

with love...